VC touchdown

Urs Lauener, Chief Operating Officer at Skyguide, has the task of transforming the potential of Virtual Centre Tranche 2 (VCT2) technology into real operational benefits for customers and Skyguide.

What are the potential operational benefits of VCT2 and how will they be delivered in VC touchdown?

The infrastructure is now in place to allow us to reduce cost inefficiencies and enhance customer service by improving management of our traffic flows and capacity. Our biggest driver for this is location independence which will allow a controller to safely manage any part of Swiss airspace, regardless of where he or she is based. From an operational standpoint this means moving from delivery-centric to a value-driven approach, making sure we always have in our mind the question “Does it add value?”.

Our focus now is on generating benefits and remaining Agile if we are not on the right track.
The clear goal is to manage more traffic with fewer controllers. We are the most expensive air navigation service provider (ANSP) in Europe today and we want to change that in the next five years.

This focus on financial prudence does not mean we are less focused on safety. This is not the case at all and I would like to be clear on that. As traffic grows, there will be elements we implement that will not have a financial ,benefit but will allow us to increase the level of safety.

What does the hand-over phase involve?

There will not be a big bang; we will have to evolve with developments. That means no more standard project management thinking where we define the overall scope and budget and do what we can to stick to it. Now we define the budget on an annual basis and adapt the scope.

We are rapidly taking the baton from Klaus Meier and Joël Jordan who, with their teams, have taken Skyguide further forward than any other ANSP in the same period. Laura Hopper, the new programme director for VC touchdown, will work with many of the same teams involved in VCT2 to deliver the capabilities into operations so that the full benefits can be realized. The Tranche 2 team is continuing its work but now contributing to VC touchdown. It is a relatively smooth transition.

The first important element is to get rid of the legacy systems, which should happen by the end of 2022. And then, based on the new operational concept we are currently developing, we will start with maybe two or three flight levels at the upper end of the airspace and gradually roll out the programme until full Swiss-wide implementation happens around 2025 or 2026. Operationally, we are focused on those capabilities that drive a positive outcome, continually challenging ourselves to see if we can do something different or better. For many ,mof us this approach is entirely new. The most important part right now is to develop the operational concept, which describes the way we are going to work in the future.

Can you give me some examples of the differences?

When Airbus developed the A320 the pilot stopped steering the aircraft and began monitoring what the computer was doing when it steered the aircraft. Until now we have fully relied on the capacity of the human being supported by some safety nets. This is going to change. We want the system to do the routine work, thus discharging the controller from “less important” stuff. With this, we unload the cognitive capacity of the controller and refocus it on where humans can really add value – so no longer spending time on thousands of standard voice messages when the pilot already has the information available in the flight management system.

What has been the role of controllers in preparing for this?

We think the best chance of success will come if we have controllers who helped develop the system working alongside controllers who will operate it. So we involve them very closely in the development phases. We have launched an information campaign so controllers understand what we are doing, why we are doing it and what the benefit will be to them.

So you are heading for a single, common air traffic control (ATC) human-machine interface (HMI) so any controller can manage any piece of Swiss airspace from wherever they are?

Yes, that is the final goal. We have developed a common HMI and we now must make the operations location independent, which will require a system, rather than a geographic, licence. Once the system provides all relevant local information, it makes no difference anymore where the controller sits and which sector he or she is working.

The harmonization between Zurich and Geneva centres was a huge step. Over the last 30 years operations have developed very differently in the two centres and we have now brought the two together.

We are now close to 90% harmonization in terms of procedures and this is a major change. What is still missing is the system licence and this will be the last piece of the mosaic.